In Finland, UPM Raflatac is extending its range of film face materials for the European market with a new white plant-based material that provides a sustainable alternative to fossil-based films for a wide variety of end uses. RafBio PE White performs just like standard PE film, and its excellent flexibility makes it ideal for the […]
In New York state, S&P Global Platts announced that it has launched a new North-Northeast Brazil anhydrous ethanol assessment. The new assessment reflects demand for greater transparency and a clearly defined methodology to help market participants understand the drivers of pricing. The NNE assessment will reflect anhydrous ethanol standard ANP quality in Suape, one to […]
In India, the National Green Tribunal has taken up a case lodged by an environmental activist who claims Numaligarh Refinery and Chemopolis’ proposed bamboo-based ethanol plant shouldn’t be allowed in the no development zone of the Kaziranga National Park. The suit also claims the environmental impact assessment that led to the project receiving environmental approval […]
In Brazil, more than 903 million liters of biodiesel were contracted at the ANP’s most recent biodiesel auction bringing in a total of $711.2 million. With more than a billion liters offered from 38 producers, 99.4% of which held the social seal, the average price paid at auction was 78.7 cents per liter. About 80.5% […]
In Denmark, researchers from the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, have developed a patented technology which uses lactic acid bacteria to efficiently convert lactose in the whey into ethanol. Ethanol is the type of alcohol that is found in spirits. The researchers have formed the company Alcowhey, which aims to help smaller dairies […]
In Washington, the Sierra Club and the Gulf Restoration Network filed a lawsuit in D.C. Circuit Court challenging the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to consult with wildlife agencies to ensure that its 2018 renewable fuel volume standards do not jeopardize federally listed species. The suit claims dramatic land conversion has occurred as a result […]
Novozymes moved into yeast this week with a new organism, Innova Drive. It’s saccharomyces cerevisae — the workhouse yeast that has been powering wine fermentation since the days of Noah and the Ark. But here’s a new strain engineered to cut fermentation times up to two hours, and yield boosts of up to two percent. A […]
By Jeremy Gilpin, Jordan Blanchard, and Cindy Thyfault, National Rural Lenders Association Special to The Digest There has been a keen focus the last few weeks for President Trump and the USDA with the release of the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity Report, President Trump’s recent speech to the Farm Bureau, and the […]
The project goal? To produce and commercialize lignin-derived, industrial-grade composites with properties including 3D printability, rivaling current petroleum-derived alternatives. That’s the project undertaken by a team led by Amit K. Naskar, of the Carbon & Composites Group Materials Science & Technology Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The hoped-for project outcome? A novel family […]
With the XXIII Olympic Winter Games starting and a record-breaking 102 gold medals up for grabs this year, it got us thinking about medals…and metals in general. With so many uses from giving them as awards for super athletes, to using them in currency, trade markets, and more recently, electronics, it seems like the demand […]
